Well, we still practice those 'old' attacks not just for the tradition that everyone mentions, or for the fact that it is not just self defense that we are practicing (which I guess I'll be the first to mention), but also, there ARE modern applications:
1. as I said in my first post to this, the hand can be drawing a gun (or knife, or mace, or divorce papers
) as well as drawing a sword...so grab it before they reach their weapon
2. rather than a sword in yokomenuchi or shomenuchi, picture a knife, liquor bottle, baseball bat, lead pipe, etc, etc since the focus is not really the weapn in uke's hand, but uke, it's all really the same.